ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) on Thursday delayed the National Assembly by-election for NA-75 in Daska, which was supposed to be held on April 10.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had ordered re-polling in the constituency after firing incidences — involving workers of the PTI and the PML-N during polling — resulted in a couple of people getting killed and others injured.
The bench said the court needed more time to decide the case. “At the moment, we are hearing Salman Akram Raja’s [the PML-N candidate’s lawyer} arguments. We have to hear [the arguments of] other parties to the case apart from Nosheen Ahmed [PML-N candidate],” said the court.
The apex court adjourned proceedings of the case for an unspecified period. “The decision of the ECP to hold re-polling stands,” said Justice Umar Ata Bandial. “For the moment, we are postponing the decision to hold it on April 10.”
Soon after news broke of the clash between workers of both political parties, the PML-N and the PTI leaderships had held each other responsible for the violence.
Special Assistant to the Punjab Chief Minister on Information, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan had held PML-N Punjab president Rana Sanaullah responsible for the clash, saying that PML-N was resorting to its “traditional thuggery” under Sanaullah’s supervision.
On the other hand, PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz had lashed out at authorities and had tweeted a video of the party’s supporters breaking doors of a polling station down after they were allegedly made to wait outside for hours.
One of the main accusations regarding the Daska by-election hurled by the PML-N at the ruling party was that 20 presiding officer had “gone missing” with the ballot boxes during the by-poll.
The ECP had asked for the government’s “consent” to get the call data record (CDR) of the mobile numbers of the 20 presiding officers who allegedly went ‘missing’ on the polling day. ECP had approached the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Geo News reported.
Apart from declaring the by-election null and void, the ECP had also summoned the chief secretary and IG on March 4 besides ordering the removal of the commissioner and RPO Gujranwala and the suspension of the concerned deputy commissioner, DPO, two assistant commissioners and two DSPs.
Following the controversy, on February 25, the ECP declared the NA-75 Sialkot-IV constituency by-election result null and void, and issued an order for re-polling in the entire constituency on March 18.
In the short order released by the ECP, Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja said after the arguments heard and record perused, the ECP has come to the conclusion that “the election in the subject constituency has not been conducted honestly, justly, fairly and in a transparent manner”.
“From the perusal of available record produced by the parties, the Returning Officer, as well as collected by the Commission through different sources, we have come to the conclusion that a conducive environment was not available for the candidates and voters of the constituency and the election in the subject constituency has not been conducted honestly, justly, fairly and in a transparent manner,” it read.
“Incidents of murders, firing and injuries, bad law and order situation in the subject constituency [created] harassment for voters and other circumstances leading to make the process of results doubtful/unascertainable,” the ECP order had noted.
Last week, the Supreme Court turned down a request to declare the ECP order to hold re-polling in the NA-75 Daska by-elections ‘illegal’.
The request was rejected by a three-member bench, headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial, hearing a plea regarding the NA-75 Daska by-polls filed by a PTI leader.
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